A secret gem of an art gallery with world class paintings. Free to entry on Birmingham University campus. No restaurant, but a well stocked self service snack bar and coffee machine with plenty of seating throughout the lovely galleries . Enjoy an hour or so

We had a really fabulous morning at The Barber Institute of Fine Art! So many stunning masterpieces as well as some more contemporary exhibits. They have some truly unique and rare pieces of work. The gallery assistant was extremely welcoming and very informative as well. He clearly loves working there :)

Very nice art galleries at the University of Birmingham! The staff is quite nice too and very welcoming

Absolutely fantastic smaller gallery. I spent a delightful hour going around the rooms.

This gallery has a stunning permanent art collection which is well displayed. Not only are there wonderful paintings but it also has an interesting collection of sculptures. I always enjoy visiting the Barber Institute. A real Birmingham gen

What a fantastic place and free too!! Lots of paintings and statues with little plaques of their story. Staff were very nice too and it's a beautiful building. Parking however every says staff only and you will be fined so it's worth asking staff about that before you visit. Some of the reviews on here are unfair.. For a free few hours out you can't grumble!!!

Spontaneous date on a sunny day. We’ve been wanting to go for a while but haven’t seen much advertising , a browse of trusty Google maps reminded us of the Institute. Also on ArtMap. Booking required but walk-ins welcome. The building itself is more beautiful inside than the exterior suggests; think soft greens, wooden interior, high ceilings, thick golden doors. Visitor guide (Simon P ) was extremely knowledgable, thoughtful and forthcoming. We didn’t expect to have him come over and tell us about art history but it was much appreciated and really made our experience in depth and memorable. We decided that we would come back to appreciate it all (cutting the gallery short) on round two. Another date awaits…

This is a beautiful gallery filled with great art, some of which, provokes complex moral and ethical discussion. The staff members are really knowledgeable and can really enhance your visit. Look out for Simon, who knows an incredible amount about the works, and really encourages visitors to think beyond their first impressions of works. I will definitely visit again.

Wonderful gallery, not too big, but including some real big hitters, and the Lightning Lectures were utterly brilliant. What a great way to get up close and personal with amazing works and learn how they fit into a wider picture. Thank you, Barber Institute.

Place too nice for an hour or two, perfect place to be at few hours before you hit the goose pub and get the night going. They have an insane collection even if you’re not into arts this a must go to.

Some incredible gems and a beautifully curated collection within the stunning university grounds. Well worth a visit combining with the Lapworth Museum of Geology and Winterbourne House and Garden. One of my favourite Van Gogh pieces resides here. Enjoyed many an hour taking a break between my studies while at the university. Highly recommend for both students seeking a quiet space and external visitors.

I love this place - excellent permanent collection with interesting special exhibitions. They also have a range of talks and courses.

Been here for a year and half and still missed to visit this important location. The eye of sauron inspiration for Tolkien!

Parking was a nightmare. Gallery is definitely worth visiting. Only small but a hidden gem. Something for everybody's taste.

Wonderful music venue within university grounds. Easy access and ample parking (which is usually free at performance times). There is also a completely free exhibition which is well worth a look

Great little venue in the heart of the University of Birmingham. Really nicely kept galleries with a great variety of pieces from many well known artists. Worth a visit if heading past campus.

An oasis of peace. Really interesting free lectures on a Tuesday

(Translated by Google) Sikon is a nice, clean, warm place and there are lots of historical, old-fashioned objects & paintings that are still well preserved and well organized. And there is room for the music concert too. (Original) Sikon tempatnya bagus, bersih, hangat dan banyak terdapat barang², benda² & lukisan² bersejarah yg berumur sangat "old" yg masih terjaga serta tertata dg baik. Dan ada ruang utk konser musiknya juga.

A great 1930s art deco style building with a concert hall down stairs and an impressive art collection in the upstairs galleries. Public car park is about a 10 mins walk away (£4 for 3 hrs) so you can enjoy a pleasant stroll through the Birmingham Uni campus to reach it. Pleasant and helpful staff, good information with each artwork and an impressive Roman and Persian coin collection.

Excellent! We went for a Durer exhibition. Superb etchings, many lent by Her Majesty. Interesting paintings by many famous names like Degas, Monet, Manet. Works by Rodin. Staff were so helpful and interested. Entry free. have a look round the University. Get public transport though. No easy nearby parking. Then go off for some food at the nearby 1900 restaurant.

Well worth a visit. Free to look around great art by many famous artists. Don't miss this wonderful experience if you are near Birmingham uni. Lovely friendly knowledgeable staff.

Nice collection, very small but free. We didn't book but if you're going with a few people I'd book just incase.

An incredible collection of art across the genres. Many well knowns too. The temporary exhibition was fab too. Just be mindful when parking, not very well signposted!

Gorgeous building and fantastic collection of paintings from the world's greatest artists. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit, which was made all the more interesting by the very friendly member of staff, who was so knowledgeable. We are not usually art gallery type people - Highly recommend this to anyone - and it's free!

A small but full of amazing pieces museum. Definitely worth the visit

It's incredible. I could easily spend a day there. So much art and wonder. It will move your heart.

Amazing gallery. With a world class selection of artists. Had the place all to myself. Staff are lovely and will answer your questions on the collection. One of the best galleries I have ever been to

We had an incredible experience at this exceptional small gallery that delighted our entire family. Visiting on a rainy day, we were pleasantly surprised by the tranquility, and a friendly and knowledgeable staff member graciously offered us a fantastic mini tour. Their intriguing and engaging descriptions of the art pieces made the visit especially enjoyable for our 8-year-old, adding an extra layer of excitement to our day.

It's all been said many times before, but this is a pearl of a museum with the friendliest museum staff you could hope to meet. In terms of exhibits, it is a case of less is more and quality over quantity. With a plane to catch I only had 30 minutes to look around but it was still worth a couple of rather hot and humid bus rides to and from Birmingham city centre to see the wonderful exhibits, albeit rather briefly. There is no entry fee but there is a shop that has some very tempting items for sale. I'll be back for a proper look sometime soon I hope.

We went for the summer children’s activities and absolutely loved them! They had quite a few sessions on but we were only able to go to two but they were fantastic! We weren’t expecting much, just the normal arts and crafts but they really impressed us! The week before the summer holidays I took a trip there without the kids and Simon (works at the gallery) was great! He was telling some of the teenagers looking at the artwork some interesting facts. He told me a few and I’ve promised to go back to learn more from him. Genuinely such a great guy! Thank you Simon and Barber Institute x

Some great pieces of art here, only issue was parking, as it is inside the campus to get in you need to go through a security barrier, then there are multiple car parks on offer for permit holders, sadly we couldn't find a car park for non permit holders, so ended up having to park off campus and walk in, I highly recommend public transport and walking over, just save yourself the hassle of navigating the car park. However once inside, it was a great gallery with some amazing pieces of art to see from over the centuries, And even better that it is all free!

Probably my favourite gallery in the world! Thank you Simon for making my mum’s first visit so enjoyable. The art collections are absolutely first rate with staff, building and gift shop to match. So lucky to have this iconic institute on my doorstep. A wonderful experience every time.

Lovely place to spend an hour. Small but excellent collection of artwork including Rosetti, Reddon, Money, Bellini and many more. Scrumptious stairway. Lovely staff as well. Charming free place to visit.

Well worth an Uber trip to visit. Had an excellent visiting exhibition from Woburne Abbey. Extremely knowledgeable and friendly staff made the visit extra special. A secret treat for art lovers, judging how few people were there. Can’t rate it enough and will return!

Lovely small gallery with some great art on view and free entry. Perfect combo with the rain effected ashes. Simon entertained us greatly as an impromptu guide too.

An excellent museum with exceptionally friendly and helpful staff and a brilliant collection of world class art. Activities for children, a small but well-curated shop with snacks and drinks and free parking outside on the weekend make this a great day out. We went specifically for the Dürer exhibition, but the permanent collection is hugely impressive. Will certainly be back.

This gallery, the result of a Trust set up by Lady Barber in the 1930s, is a real gem of the art world. The extensive collection ranges from pre Renaissance to 20th century masterpieces and the quality of the collection is outstanding. Free entry but please do leave a donation if you can

A gem. Not that big, yet big enough to engage for over an hour and spacious setting. We visited on a Sunday where local parking was free. The gallery was fairly quiet, staff pleasant and helpful. Picked up some postcards from the useful shop on our way out.

This is a lovely small art museum in Birmingham. Great collection and really welcoming knowledgeable staff. We attended a free event during half term encouraging youngsters to look at art and relate to it by creating their own art work. Brilliant thank you.

As an International student at UoB, I spent a fair amount of time visiting the Barber. All the staff are extremely friendly and knowledgeable. The security guards are more like tour guides as they are eager to discuss and really engage with visitors. A beautiful gallery that is a hidden gem for the city.

A beautiful gallery of quality art, unusual to be able to get so close to so many good famous paintings by so many masters. Also if you are like me and want to see everything, then it's just the right size to get round it all , look at everything and read everything before you get too tired. Compact quality in a good way. I also would encourage everyone to read the wall information on the founders which is down the corridor on the left just before you go up the staircase on the ground floor. It's absolutely fascinating and sets the tone for the understanding the whole collection. Fabulous to see original Rodin sculpture too. Can't believe I got round to finally visiting after all these years, so worthwhile, and free- just donate if want or buy cards etc. Even allowed to photograph most paintings which is so unusual. If you go at the weekend parking on site is free, but probably a nightmare in the week as it's permit holders only.

An outstanding international level collection of art, featuring paintings and sculptures by many key artists through the ages, housed in a beautiful building on the Birmingham Uni campus. Kind and helpful staff - we were particularly grateful for Simon sharing his insightful understanding of various paintings in the gallery with us - we basically had a private tour which made our visit a really special experience. Definitely recommend a visit and campus stroll on a trip to Birmingham!

The collection at the Barber Institute is incredible, with everything from paintings of medieval saints to sculptures to Monet. The staff are really lovely and extremely knowledgeable about the collection, and the atmosphere is wonderful. I could never get bored of going there. It's also free admission and right on the doorstep of the university. I highly recommend a visit!

Fascinating and diverse collection, with knowledgeable and friendly staff.

Fantastic trip

Small but significant art collection.

Excellent gallery with many fine paintings and sculptures.

Lovely building and great art.

Very good staff very helpful and friendly.

Lovely building and surroundings

very nice selection of fresh trims

Quuite place

Ideal for a day out trip or a little break from lectures. Definitely recommend visiting!

Small and beautiful.

Closed for Christmas!

Even in lock down this is a gem of an Art Gallery which has something for everyones taste.

It free in art history museum it good who love art galleries

got in free loads of great old pictures and stuff

The members of staff were very helpful and informative. It was the last day before the 2nd lockdown and they were still professional and gave more useful information on some of the art on dislpay.

Amazing. It has works by Simone Martini, Degas, Canaletto and Gainsborough. Lovely place to spend an hour or so.

Didn't expect to find such a lovely art Gallery situated inside Birmingham University. We took our kids (12, 11 and 6 yr old) and in their words ''they had a nice time visiting the gallery. Favourite part was the historic coin collection...'' We found the staff all friendly and very helpful. With situation of Covid there are obviously rules in place (pre-book time slot etc) but that made it even more enjoyable for the kids as it meant the gallery was virtually empty. The kids got to take the history and art all in their own time.... Would definitely recommend and would like to revisit in the near future.

Love here so much! I didn't expect inside Birmingham University there is such nice art gallery. More surprisingly, two Monet and Van Gogh's original paintings on exhibition for public. Nice and comfortable environment, a wonderful place you can spend half day in it.

Some great stuff here

It's amazing, it's small but it has great paintings. It has Van Gogh, Monet and Degas paintings. It's awesome!

This isn't the biggest gallery but the quality is outstanding.

Fantastic gallery to visit. Staff friendly warm and helpful. Strict COVID rules in place made it an even better experience. The gallery was virtually empty. Superb

Beautiful

A great art gallery .

Lovely place great art and free my granddaughters enjoyed it

Small but interesting very helpful pleasant staff.

Superb art collection. Visiting de Beer collection very interesting

A very eclectic and an amazing collection of art.

Really great small gallery. The building is late Art Deco, great design and well maintained. I was especially impressed by the upgrade of electrical switches and sockets while keeping original brass or bronze backplates. But come here for the paintings and sculpture. When I read about it I was worried that it would be just a series of fine examples, with little coherence between them, and that is simply not the case. It's like a wonderfully balanced 'tasting menu' of European Art from about 1350 to the present day, a tasting menu with some very interesting examples of familiar artists. This is a sample : Manet , Monet, Rubens, van Gogh, Botticelli, Rodin, Whistler, Toulouse-Lautrec, Tintoretto, Rembrandt, Reynolds, Frans Hals, Courbet, Corot, Goya. Will be back !! And it's free !!!!!!

Great hidden treasure of my home city. Great art work. No free parking today.

lovely items and good parking

It is not largest art exhibition but very nice to visit. Parking was a pain and I found a multistorey not far away.

Brilliant small art gallery. Minor works from some of the world's greatest artists. A real gem. Visit if you get the chance.

Well worth a visit, interesting collection.

The best small gallery collection I've ever seen. Some truly remarkable and important pieces, and I'm so glad I was able to show it to two of my friends yesterday. They loved it as well